Homeless Heart
by DavidArchuletaLove15
Summary: The bloodshot eyes that stared back at me were so familiar, that it was starting to scare me. Erase that, I'm way past the point of scared."...When Miley's dad thought she was getting better, she was only getting worse. So she's off to Crowley Corners.
1. Don't Tell Dad

**Hi! Does anyone remember me? I stopped writing on here more than a year ago because the site deleted like 18 of my stories or something. So now I'm coming back and starting new, because I had a story idea. I hope you like it...Lemme know! =]

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**Miley's POV**

The blood ran down my wrist as I leaned back against the cold bathroom counter. I breathed in the scent of chocolate chip pancakes. "Coming, dad!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

"Hurry up, darlin'! Before Jackson eats all the food!" my father's voice called up to me.

"Okay!" I screamed back.

I turned around and looked in the mirror at myself. The bloodshot eyes that stared back at me were so familiar these days, that it was starting to scare me. Erase that, I'm _way _past the point of scared.

--

"Morning, daddy! Morning, Jackson," I said as cheerfully as possible. I sat down in my usual seat at the table and grabbed my fork.

"Morning, Miley," my dad replied, just as cheerfully.

Jackson didn't respond. He was too busy stuffing his face with pancakes. I rolled my eyes.

"So, you excited for your last day of school?" Jackson asked, once he swallowed his food.

I smiled. "Yep!" I exclaimed. I stared down at my pancakes and quickly shoveled them into my mouth. "Mhm, good!"

My dad smiled. "Slow down, there. Don't want you to get sick on your last day of junior year!"

I smiled back. "Right, of course!" I said, taking slower bites.

As soon as I finished eating, I jumped up from the table. "I left my purse upstairs, I'll be right back." I left the room, and as soon as I turned the corner, I heard my dad start talking to Jackson.

"That was great. Miley was eating like crazy," my dad said.

"See, now I told you that Miley would be fine. It only took two meetings at her group therapy to get her to eat normally again. She just ate three pancakes," Jackson replied excitedly.

"I know," my dad said proudly. "I'm so glad that therapy is working for her. I can't wait to tell Grandma Ruby and Mamaw. They've been so worried since I told them about Miley's anorexia."

My eyes widened. Grandma Ruby knew, too? It was bad enough that dad told Mamaw! I shook my head and quietly headed up the steps. Let dad think whatever he wanted. Sure, my anorexia was gone. That was great for dad. But what he doesn't know won't hurt him.

When I got to my room, I grabbed my backpack and headed into the bathroom. I stared into the mirror again. I grabbed my black eyeliner and mascara. I applied them both, in an attempt to make myself look slightly better. I didn't really see a difference. Still ugly, just like Jake said. Just like Jake said.

I knelt down on the floor and opened the toilet. I leaned my head over it and stared down. Like I said, what my dad doesn't know, won't hurt him.

--

"Miley, can you believe it's our last day of junior year?" Lilly exclaimed.

"I know, right? So exciting!" I faked enthusiasm.

I was good at that. Faking things. Oh, so good at it.

Oliver smiled and draped his arm around Lilly's waist. "We've been together for almost a year now, Lills. Can you believe it?" he asked happily.

"I know," Lilly squealed. "Eep!" Then she turned and kissed him quickly on the lips.

I walked with my head down for awhile, until I suddenly bumped into somebody. It was Amber. "Ew, watch where you're going, loser!" she snorted. She giggled, then walked off.

"Don't let her bother you, Miley. Only one more year and you never have to see her or Ashley's stupid faces again!" Lilly said kindly.

"Yay," I muttered.

--

Lilly and Oliver told me to meet them at Rico's at 4:00. After school, I went home. I had an hour and a half before I had to meet Lilly and Oliver. I walked through the door and found Jackson sitting at the kitchen, eating a snack. "Hey, Miley," he said. "Want some cake?"

I thought for a moment. I ate lunch at 11:30, then immediately threw it up in the bathroom at 12:00. Did I really want to eat a snack now, then eat at Rico's, then eat dinner later? That would mean having to throw up three more times. My throat would probably hurt if I did it that much. "No, thanks," I said. "I'm gonna eat at Rico's with Lilly and Oliver."

Jackson looked concerned. "But-"

"Jackson, don't even think that. You know I'm eating. Just ask Lilly and Oliver. They saw me at lunch. I ate the entire sandwich that I brought, okay?" I snapped.

"Okay," Jackson replied uncertainly.

"God, why can't you ever trust me?" I yelled. I turned to go upstairs, when Jackson spoke.

"Because I heard you in the bathroom after dinner last night, Miley. And I heard you after breakfast yesterday, too. And I'm pretty sure that this morning, when you said you were going to get your backpack, you were probably doing the same thing I heard yesterday," Jackson said quietly.

The whole time he was talking, I stood, frozen. "Y-you don't know what you're talking about, Jackson," I stuttered.

"I'm afraid I do, Miley," he said. "Why are you doing this, Miles? You're so thin..." he said softly.

I shook my head. "No, I'm fat and ugly," I replied firmly.

"How could you ever think that?" Jackson asked.

I glared at Jackson. "Jackson, please. Don't tell dad. I'll stop, I promise!" I yelped.

Tears welled up in Jackson's eyes. "I'm sorry, Miley. But I have to."

"No you don't! Please!" I pleaded.

Jackson shook his head. "Miles, you need help."

"But I'm already getting help!" I shouted.

Just then, dad came in the back door. He heard the last thing I said and looked carefully at Jackson and me. "What's going on here?" he requested cautiously.

Jackson looked at me. If he tells dad, I decided, I will hate him forever.

"Dad, Miley-"

"Had a great day of school!" I interjected.

"Dad," Jackson started again.

"Shut UP, Jackson!" I yelped.

"Miley Ray, let your brother speak. Jackson, what is it?" my dad asked cautiously.

I stared down at the floor, waiting.

"Dad, Miley's bulimic."


	2. Arrival

**Regular POV**

"Please. I don't want to go, daddy. Don't make me go," Miley pleaded.

"I'm sorry, bud. But this is what's best for you. You'll get to spend some time with your grandma and get better at the same time. The therapist is only a half an hour away. This will be good for you. It's for the best," Robby Ray replied softly.

Miley rolled her eyes. "Thanks a lot, dad," she muttered sarcastically, before turning around.

"Miley, wait! Please don't be angry with me. This is how it has to be!" Robby Ray called after his daughter.

But Miley didn't listen. She kept walking.

--

Miley stared ahead in disbelief. She was expecting to see her grandmother waiting for her when she got off the plane. But it wasn't her grandmother.

It was Travis.

Miley had half a mind to walk right past him and march right up to the counter, demanding a flight back to California. But the other half of her mind reminded her that she had to do this. She _had_ to. For her friends, for her dad, for herself. It wasn't healthy to act the way she was. But she couldn't help it. Because she believed she was fat. In her mind, she was _fat._ And _ugly_. There was no question about it.

"Miley!" he called. "Miley!"

Miley slowly lifted her head and looked straight at him. She stayed right where she was, unsure of how fast or slow to walk towards him. She slowly began walking to him, as he began walking, too.

"Hey, you!" he said happily. "Long time no see."

Miley nodded, as Travis pulled her into a hug. A friendly hug.

"How have you been?" Travis asked with a smile.

Miley shrugged. "Uh, you know. Good. Good."

"So you're just here to visit for half the summer, I hear? And if you're having enough fun, you'll stay the rest of the summer, right?" Travis asked, flashing another smile. "That's what your grandma told me."

Miley nodded again. "Uh, yeah. That's true," she said guiltily. If only he knew...

"Well your grandma wanted to be the one to pick you up. Just a little migraine, she said. She's taking a nap, and she'll be fine by dinner time, according to her," Travis informed Miley. Miley nodded numbly. "She was hoping it wouldn't be a problem, considering our history and all last year. But I assured her it would all be fine, because when we broke up, we agreed to be friends. Now I know I don't email or text you or talk to you online as much as I'd like to, but we're still friends, right?"

Miley nodded again. "Yeah," she managed to say.

"Alright, now. Let's go get your bags, shall we?" Travis said.

"Yeah."

--

Travis turned the car on and backed out of the space. "So tell me how your school year was. Junior year was good?" he asked.

Miley shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Good grades. As usual. I told you that in my emails."

"Well," Travis said, glancing over at her as he pulled the car onto the main road. "It's kind of different in an email. Now we're sitting right next to each other, so maybe you could expand on your answer and give some details."

"Details?" Miley echoed.

Travis nodded slowly. "Yeah. I mean, something interesting must have happened this year."

Miley nodded. "Well sophomore year, I fell for this guy. But it was a long distance thing. We tried to work it out, but we gave up after three months. He came to visit me at the end of last summer, exactly a year ago, and we mutually decided to break it off. But...it broke my heart. I really liked this guy," Miley said, never once taking her eyes off the car door.

Travis sighed. "Miley..." he started to say.

"No, no," Miley said calmly. "It's okay. It was for the best. There was just too much distance between us. It would have been wrong for me to say you couldn't see other people, when I'm so far away."

Travis shrugged. "Did you see someone else this year?" he wanted to know.

Miley nodded. "I got back with Jake earlier this year. But things didn't...didn't work out. It lasted a few months. We broke up in March," she informed him.

"Yeah. I dated this girl, Rebbecca. We started dating in November, but ended it by February. I didn't like her very much. Honestly, I just didn't want to be alone."

Miley nodded again. "Um, yeah. I...I know what you mean," she said, still avoiding looking at him.

"For the record...I couldn't stop thinking about you for months. In fact," Travis paused, "some days all I did was sit and think of you. I hope that doesn't sound creepy or anything."

Miley shook her head. "No, not at all," she said distractedly.

"Good," Travis laughed. "And I'm glad we're still friends."

"You said that already earlier," Miley pointed out.

Travis shrugged. "Well it's true," he replied, gripping the steering wheel tightly. "I really mean it. And I have to admit, I was surprised to hear that you were coming down here for the summer. I mean, it's the summer before your senior year. I figured you'd want to be at home with your family and your best friends."

"Well, Jackson is busy with his girlfriend. And Oliver and Lilly are busy with each other. They started dating last fall," Miley explained.

"Oh," Travis said. "So what made you decide to come _here_?" he wanted to know.

Miley couldn't help but let the words come out. "This place _heals_ me. It always will be able to. And I know it. A summer here will make me better."

"Better?" Travis repeated in confusion.

"Uh, yeah. I mean, I'm nervous about senior year and graduating and everything. Being here will calm me down," Miley lied carefully.

"True," Travis said shortly.

Miley nodded. "Uh-huh." With that, she turned and looked out the window, opting to let the awkward silence carry on.


	3. Talking

"Travis, dear, can you help Miley bring her bags upstairs to her room?" asked Miley's grandmother, Ruby.

"Sure," Travis replied, flashing his strong smile. He looked over at Miley, and she looked away nervously.

Miley shrugged. "I'm fine," she said. "I can just make two trips."

Travis shook his head and leaned down, picking up two of the four bags. "I got it," he stated.

Miley picked up the other two and led the way down the hall and up the steps. When they got to Miley's mom's old room, she opened the door and slowly stepped inside. Exhaling slowly, Miley dropped her bags on the old bed. Travis followed closely behind and gently placed the suitcase and duffel bag on the floor besides the bed. He glanced around, nodding. "The room looks exactly the same," he said.

"Aren't you here all the time?" Miley wondered aloud.

"Not in this room. I don't come upstairs. When I help your grandma out, I just stay downstairs," Travis explained.

Miley nodded. She ran a hand through her wavy brown hair and sat down on her bed. "Well, thanks for the help," she mumbled, looking at the ground.

Travis nodded. He contemplated whether or not to say something else. He stared at her a moment longer, wondering if it was just him, or if she actually looked paler and thinner. She was still just as beautiful as he remembered, but she looked pale, maybe even unhealthy. But he couldn't say that to her. Of course not. She would take offense to that. Maybe she had been sick? But she hadn't mentioned being sick, and neither had Ruby. She mentioned Miley all the time, but never said she was sick. Travis lingered in the doorway, hesitant.

"Is there something else you want?" Miley asked, turning to look at him.

Travis shook his head quickly. He cleared his throat. "Uh, no. But Ruby invited me to stay for dinner tonight. I hope that's okay with you?" he said carefully. He tapped his fingers against the door as he waited for her to say something.

Miley shrugged. "Why would I care?" she muttered.

"That was harsh..." Travis said, hurt.

Miley shook her head quickly. "I didn't mean it like that. I-"

"Then what did you mean it like?" Travis inquired, locking eyes with her.

Miley sighed. "Nothing. I'm glad you'll be at dinner, okay?"

"Okay with me if it's okay with you," Travis retorted.

Miley rolled her eyes. "What time is it?" she asked, reaching for her cell phone. "5:00. I wonder when dinner is gonna be."

"Miley! Travis! Dinner!" a voice called up the stairs.

"Well, there's your answer," Travis said with a small smile.

Miley ignored his smile and gaze. She grabbed her sweatshirt off her bed, threw it on and headed for the door, pushing past Travis.

Travis watched her walk ahead of him, wondering why she was being so cold toward him. He knew he hadn't exactly kept up with their online correspondence or text messages as much as he could have, but if that's what was bothering her, then she should tell him so. Travis shook his head, hesitantly following Miley down the stairs.

Throughout dinner, Ruby attempted to get Miley and Travis to have a conversation. The most she got out of Miley was "yes," "no," and "I don't know." When they were finished eating, Travis turned to Miley. "You want to take a walk with me?" he asked.

"That sounds like a good idea," Ruby put in.

Miley sighed. "Yeah. I guess."

Travis nodded. "Okay."

He waited while Miley fixed her hair and slid on her shoes. "Ready," she said quietly. Travis nodded.

"Alright, let's go," he said.

Travis led the way out of the house, while Miley followed closely behind. "So..." Travis said slowly. "What's new?"

"I already told you," Miley replied quietly. "Nothing."

"Come on," Travis urged. "There has to be something you haven't told me."

Miley sighed. _"He has no idea," _she thought.

Travis waited for her to speak, and when she didn't, he spoke again. "There's something different about you. But I can't figure out what," he told her.

"Something different?" Miley asked slowly.

Travis nodded. He glanced over at Miley and examined her, as they continued walking. She was definitely thinner than before. But she had always been fairly skinny. Not _too _skinny, but maybe she was now. She was on the verge of too skinny for sure. But maybe that was just stress from school or something. As they walked along in silence, Travis reasoned that he was just paranoid and there was nothing actually wrong with Miley. He was just plain paranoid to think there would be something wrong with her.

"So what about you?" Miley questioned.

"What about me?" Travis replied, kicking the dirt in front of him on the road.

Miley shrugged and kicked a pebble across the road. "What's new with you?" she mumbled.

"Well, like you said. Nothing," Travis decided to say.

Miley sighed. "Well, we're not gonna get anywhere if we never tell each other anything," she reasoned. "We're supposed to be friends, right?"

"Right," Travis said in confusion.

"Okay, so...let me be honest with you," Miley said, looking at the ground.

"Alright," Travis replied.

Miley stopped walking. She walked over to the curb and sat down on it, motioning for Travis to join her. "When we broke up, and I said I was okay...I wasn't okay." Travis waited for her to continue, so she did. "I said I was fine and that we could be friends, but I wasn't ready for that. Which is probably why we have barely talked. I've missed you the whole time, but I just didn't know what to say. The longer we stopped talking, the harder it was for me to try to talk to you. We've sent the occasional texts, but none of them really mean anything. When was the last time we had an actual deep conversation like this? It's been forever. And it's because of the distance. That's something that will never change, and it will always be this huge factor, even in just a friendship between us. We will always have trouble talking to each other because of the distance. And I don't know what to do about it," Miley said, on the verge of tears. Travis draped an arm around her carefully. Miley choked back her sobs and continued to speak. "But I still really want to be your friend. Because I love talking to you. I really do," she said sincerely.

Travis didn't know what to say at first. After collecting his thoughts, he looked at Miley and said, "I really want to talk to you and be your friend, too. And I know the distance is hard, but maybe we could try harder this time to keep in touch. This time we know we can only be friends, so when you leave, we can try to keep up with correspondence as friends. That might be easier than what happened last year, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Miley said softly.

"Alright, come on, let's keep walking," Travis said, He reached over and helped Miley stand. As they walked, he looked over at her. "And for the record, when I said I was okay with the breakup, I wasn't okay either," he told her honestly.

Miley smiled.

"I'm glad we're being honest," Travis added.

Miley continued smiling, but her smile froze. _"If only he knew the secrets I'm hiding,"_ she thought. She ran her left hand up and down her right arm, feeling the faded scars through her sweatshirt.


End file.
